World Bank, Telangana government forge landmark partnership for sustainable development

WASHINGTON: In a landmark breakthrough during his trip to the United States, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met with World Bank President Ajay Banga to discuss potential partnerships to positively impact the lives of over four crore people in Telangana. The discussions focused on forging a roadmap for collaboration in several key areas, including skills development, urban rejuvenation, Net Zero initiatives, and citizens’ healthcare.

During the hour-long meeting, the Chief Minister and the World Bank President decided to establish cross-functional teams to conceptualize viable projects in each area. The primary themes of the discussions were people, the planet, sustainability, health, skills, and jobs.

The World Bank's backing is expected to significantly boost several key visions of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, including the Musi River rejuvenation project, the establishment of a Skill University, the Future City initiative, Citizen Healthcare, and the development of Hyderabad 4.0. The World Bank expressed optimism about the balanced vision for Telangana and Hyderabad and highlighted its past successes in generating positive outcomes in the region through various initiatives. The bank also showed great interest in supporting the creation of a Net Zero city.

The Chief Minister expressed delight at endorsing the state’s key initiatives and promised to ensure each project is pursued with the highest transparency to achieve ambitious impacts and outcomes. This collaboration marks Telangana's first exploration of working with any of the Bretton Woods institutions.

The Telangana delegation, which included IT & Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, Telangana Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, and other officials such as Jayesh Ranjan, Ramakrishna Rao, V. Sheshadri, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, and Ajith Reddy, provided an overview of various developments affecting the lives and livelihoods of citizens and environmental sustainability in the state.

World Bank Executive Director Parameswaran Iyer, who also attended the discussions, praised the Telangana government for its holistic, balanced, and sustainable vision and stressed the importance of putting the state and its people first.